Samsung owned Harman International has announced a strategic collaboration with Samsung SmartThings. Through the collaboration, Harman will work with SmartThings to accelerate the growth of the latter’s Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem.
Harman-SmartThings Collaboration
This partnership is between the Samsung SmartThings R&D team and Harman Connected Services (HCS), a division of HARMAN International working on connected devices. Under this partnership, a global team of HCS engineers will help develop and support the SmartThings application and device development. This includes help in rolling out the SmartThings app, integrate third-party sensors into the SmartThings ecosystem, and work on feature development for SmartThings Cloud. The two companies will also work together to create future roadmap features for hub, core and embedded components.
“It’s more important than ever to be at the cutting-edge of digital transformation and connected devices. By partnering with Harman Connected Services for SmartThings application and device development, we’re able to bring the latest smart device innovations directly to consumers,” said Robert Parker, CTO, Samsung SmartThings.
HCS Vice President and General Manager, Sandeep Kalra was equally thrilled to partner-up with Samsung SmartThings. “We’re thrilled to be an engineering partner for Samsung SmartThings and to help grow the SmartThings ecosystem. HARMAN Connected Services strives to deliver experiences at the intersection of design, data and devices. Together with Samsung, we are doing just that and bringing about next-generation IoT and cloud-based solutions for our customers,” he said.
SmartThings platform is currently in over 1 million homes with more than 10 million connected devices. Together Harman and Samsung will continue to accelerate the adoption and solution development across key industry verticals, the companies said.
Samsung Electronics bought SmartThings back in 2014, whereas it completed the acquisition of Harman for $8 billion last year. The South Korean tech giant is using Harman’s audio as a companion piece for its Cinema LED solution. Samsung’s upcoming AI speaker, which it’ll integrate into its IoT ecosystem, will also leverage Harman’s audio prowess.
